FYI, that is pretty much how most Americans are able to own houses and get a college education. They take on debt. One just has to be smart about it.
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Well, the former guy was far, far worse. As per inept, the current guy managed to get NATO repaired after all efforts by the former guy. Massive job creation, an economy that refuses to slide into recession no matter how much the radical right media claims otherwise, I could go on. Inept? Hardly.
The last guy to balance the budget was Clinton. It takes more than just a president to do that, however. And as much as people like to talk about balancing a budget, the fact is voters reward spending. Perhaps if we had term limits for Congress some of this could change. Unsure.
A solution to the debt would require changes to all three big ticket items: defense, social security and medicare. And that is not going to happen.
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Your shot at the current occupant aside (the previous one was worse), I think you don’t understand that most of the debt is money which is owed to - and will be paid to - Americans. Yes, most of the debt is not in foreign hands, but is money one branch of government owes to another branch of the same government: it’s owed to Social Security and pension funds and the like, future obligations for military and so on - and will be paid , just as most everyone pays their mortgage and car payments - and gets great benefits from doing so.
Without that mortgage you’d be living in a hut somewhere, oh wait, I already used that line. Of course it’s a good line since it’s true. Funny, people who complain about “the debt” usually have “debt” of their own, but don’t make the connection that debt, used appropriately, is good. And people who complain that government should run like a business don’t remember that nearly every business has “debt”, often very large amounts of it, but somehow they think that doesn’t count. Radio talk show economics. It makes people stupid.
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I thought perhaps actual statistics would be helpful. You know, “math”.
Term / increase in national debt by %
*Joe Biden|2021-present 8.79%
*Donald J. Trump|2017-2021 40.43%
Barack Obama|2009–2017 69.98%
George W. Bush|2001–2009 105.08%
William J. Clinton|1993–2001 31.64%
*George H. W. Bush|1989–1993 54.39%
Ronald Reagan|1981–1989 186.36%
*Jimmy Carter|1977–1981 42.79%
*Gerald Ford|1974–1977 47.11%
*Richard Nixon|1969–1974 34.30%
Lyndon Johnson|1963–1969 15.65%
*John F. Kennedy|1961–1963 5.84%
Dwight Eisenhower|1953–1961 8.61%
Harry S. Truman|1945–1953 2.86%
Asterisk indicates less than 8 year term.
Wars generally produce an outsized increase.
Economic collapse also increases government expenditures.
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As another very prominent member of the House discovered, how you poll in November makes no difference, if you lose in the primary. If this was after the primary season, people could do the right thing, and have two years to mollify the base. But not now, when any defection from purity of ideology, thought, and action, will be fresh in the minds of the base.
Steve
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I know the budget is not the same as the debt ceiling, but there were 149 Reps that compromised to avoid the debt ceiling earlier this year:
It does not seem extreme to think that there might be at least five that also want to avoid a government shutdown.
PickPro2024
OK. I will “see your hand” rather than assume you are just trolling, and will respond as if you mean something substantive but lack knowledge, as opposed to choosing our board as a place to throw a tantrum.
We are $33 trillion in debt
- YES, and we do now need to raise taxes both to pay down debt and to help the Fed moderate the economy with less reliance on setting higher interest rates.
- We were similarly deeply in debt at the end of the Civil War, WWI, and WWII, and also when the nation was founded, and Alexander Hamilton in a brilliant exposition crucial to modern economic theory called the debt a potential “national blessng” if it were managed correctly. He was correct. His policy of responsibly managing the debt launched the USA on the path to international economic superpower and should be continued. The national debt is not near crisis levels, although the current level of annual deficit shows an irresponsible Congress reflective a larger national political crisis.
Our national Constitution makes clear that etting a balanced budget is not the job of the President but rather of Congress, and specifically of the House of Reprentatives, currently under the control of the Republican Party. That party, in conjunction with the previous Republican President, cut taxes irresponsibly and cut IRS funding necessary to collect the remaining taxes. So, your statement is ridiculously unsupported by facts.
Uhm, if all the cells making up my body acted as I do with regard to nutrition, excretion, and breathing I would be dead. In other words you are being profoundly silly in confusing a body politic with its constituent elements.
david fb
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$33 Trillion - Assuming you agree with me that this is an insane level of National Debt, so I will skip your comments.
UHM… steps to our US Government Budget:
- The President submits a budget proposal to Congress
- both chambers produce their own budget resolution
- Congress passes appropriations bills that set the spending levels
Let me know if you have any questions. Stop pointing fingers at sides. These “politicians” - if you can even call them that - are Lifetimers who get elected and then get NOTHING done. They are disgraceful, on both sides of the aisle. It is appalling and embarrassing. Any finance major from a local Technical School could review our “books” and do a better job.
You want to go after the major expenditure categories, which are healthcare, Social Security, and defense. It’s not hard.
I’m not being silly at all. That’s a very simple and easy example to follow. Credit Card companies are to blame, but people in this country, on the whole, are fiscally irresponsible. Again, it’s ridiculous. Quit making a joke out of a serious problem.
Term Limits - FANTASTIC idea. LOVE THAT. 
Why are Defense, Social Security, Healthcare off the table? They are in DIRE NEED of repair. It is disgustingly wasteful. As an example, if you combined the next 10 largest Defense Budgets from countries in the ENTIRE WORLD, the United States is STILL LARGER.
Our Government is a massive, obese pig that needs trimming down.
THAT is reality.
Defense Numbers, for reference:
1 United States of America 877 billion
2 People’s Republic of China 292 billion
3 Russia 86 billion
4 India 81 billion
5 Saudi Arabia 75 billion
6 United Kingdom 68 billion
7 Germany 56 billion
8 France 54 billion
9 South Korea 46 billion
10 Japan 46 billion
11 Ukraine 44 billion
It has been a while since I took Mr. Wilde’s 8th Civics class, but I recall the Constitution requires that all spending bills originate from the U.S. House of Representatives.
Have they changed the Constitution since then?
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They will need to ignore McCarthy’s politically dead body laying in the road, to do it.
There is a line in the Marlon Brando “Mutiny On The Bounty”, where Christian questions whether the flogging issued to a crewman was excessive. Bligh replied that, yes, it was excessive, but the objective was to establish fear of punishment in the minds of the crew, so that discipline can be maintained.
Steve
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Not quite.
US Constitution, Article I, Section 7:
“All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.”
I.e. TAXES and FEES (etc) must originate in the House. Spending–nope.
I share your frustration with inefficiencies in the US federal government as I’m sure there are many which lead to elevated costs.
Depending on the scope and method of reductions done, as people, processes and procedures are trimmed; communication, controls and overall governance breaks down and then you have to rebuild - difficult to do in the US Federal Government structure I’d say.
Here’s the complexity that exists today. Where do you start?
'38Packard
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Don’t feed the trolls!
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I’d start, personally, with our Defense Budget. Compared to the rest of the planet, it is massive. If you add up the next 10 largest defense budget countries in the world, the US is still larger by ITSELF!!
After that, I’d hit healthcare, insurance providers and drug manufacturers.
THEN, I’d clean up Washington. - Apply Term Limits; Remove ALL salaries and benefits to those who serve. Our Founding Fathers NEVER had ANY intentions for people to serve for these ridiculous amounts of time. (30-50 Years??) Career Politicians are a waste. They are simply there to cater to the various special interest groups in and around Washington. Also, I’d apply age restrictions. Let’s face it, an 80 year old person, while smart (possibly), does not have the physical and mental strength to successfully represent a state’s interests in D.C.
I think that’s a good start.
Let me know what you think.
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